Grass Widow is a San Francisco-based trio who work collaboratively to create melodic, post-punk influenced songs. Lillian Maring (drums, vocals), Hannah Lew (bass, vocals) and Raven Mahon (guitar, vocals), are all largely self-taught musicians and contribute unique musical inclinations to the songwriting process. The lyrical content in Grass Widow’s songs is heavy with metaphor and personal narratives, a product of all three members’ perspectives. Their collaborative songwriting process and the fact that they don’t have a front person is an intentional act toward a music experience not based on celebrity or spectacle. Since their formation, they have maintained an objective of playing age-inclusive and gender-inclusive shows.
Grass Widow formed in 2007 and toured the US the following summer. Their first release came as a S/T LP on San Francisco’s Make A Mess Records in 2009, followed by a 12 inch EP on Captured Tracks and their 2nd full-length, Past Time, which came out in 2010 on Kill Rock Stars.
The band continued to tour throughout 2011, visiting Europe, the UK and China and started their own record label, called HLR. Grass Widow are planning another US tour in June of 2012 to promote their new record, Internal Logic, HLR’s third release. Last year Grass Widow began an ongoing 7 inch series called Common Chord which involves collaborations with other artists, musicians and labels. The first 7 inch of the series featured the song Milo Minute, which the band played for gorillas in Boston’s Franklin Park Zoo last year. The show was part of a larger collaboration with the creator of the Music For Animals project, author and science historian, Laurel Braitman. The second 7 inch in the series features the band Nature, and is a co-release with M’lady’s Records.
Grass Widow has been featured in Yeti Magazine, Nylon, ArtForum, The New Yorker and The New York Times among other publications and appeared in an episode of IFC’s Portlandia in February. They have contributed to a number of compilations, including Under The Covers, Vol. 2, a Nerves compilation put out by Volar Records and a recent compilation of Franscoise Hardy covers. In addition to serving as direct support for Mike Watt and Sonic Youth, they have toured as direct support for Wild Flag and The Raincoats.
The band has made their own music videos, as well, many of which were written and directed by Grass Widow’s bassist, Hannah Lew.